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Theres a lot of reason to not vote republican i.e Palin. But the main reason is that Mccain would even pick someone like that in the first place. Its more Mccain than Palin.

·Palin recently said that the war in Iraq is "God's task." She's even admitted she hasn't thought about the war much—just last year she was quoted saying, "I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq."

·Palin has actively sought the support of the fringe Alaska Independence Party. Six months ago, Palin told members of the group—who advocate for a vote on secession from the union—to "keep up the good work" and "wished the party luck on what she called its 'inspiring convention.'

·Palin wants to teach creationism in public schools. She hasn't made clear whether she thinks evolution is a fact.

·Palin doesn't believe that humans contribute to global warming. Speaking about climate change, she said, "I'm not one though who would attribute it to being manmade."

·Palin has close ties to Big Oil. Her inauguration was even sponsored by BP.

·Palin is extremely anti-choice. She doesn't even support abortion in the case of rape or incest.

·Palin opposes comprehensive sex-ed in public schools. She's said she will only support abstinence-only approaches.

·As mayor, Palin tried to ban books from the library. Palin asked the library how she might go about banning books because some had inappropriate language in them—shocking the librarian, Mary Ellen Baker. According to Time, "news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor."

·She DID support the Bridge to Nowhere (before she opposed it). Palin claimed that she said "thanks, but no thanks" to the infamous Bridge to Nowhere. But in 2006, Palin supported the project repeatedly, saying that Alaska should take advantage of earmarks "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

I have a high school friend who moved to Alaska to work on the pipeline back in the 70's. We've managed to stay in touch over the years. I asked him his opinion of Palin and he responded with one word.

McCain has turned this period of American history into an episode of high-stakes reality television: Don't look now, but our cousin Sarah just became leader of the free world! Tune in next week and watch her get sassy with Pakistan!

Karl Rove is very nasty smart, also a snake in the grass.He runs and writes the smear tactics for the GOP, as well as Palin's speech last week.

Its really evil how he operates, but very effective.Like with Palin's speech. She said Obama had some community organizer experience.And everyone at the GOP laughed.The way they state it, you'd think Obama is some guy that went from community organizerto candidate for president.They leave out he was a congressman and then a US senator.Community organizer was his beginning in getting involved with politics and people.

You really have to catch how Rove turns and twists things, so someone watchingwalks away thinking Obama went from community organizer right to presidential candidate.

And just like in that a lot of people still believe Iraq attacked us on 9/11, a lot of people are going to believe Obama only has some community organizer experience, and then thought he should run for US president.

Its a skillful mind game they play, that someone not very engaged might be fooled into going along with and believe.

Pretty scary how voters can be "played" by the skills of Karl Rove and his like. Then add in Palin, and Mccain, where they repeat it enough so that some a misleading statement written by Rove becomes fact in the mind of the disengaged voter.Just amazing.You know… That’s just how we got stuck with Bush… Twice!

I have been kind of down on the Daily Show in the past year....their correspondents have been kind of lackluster and Stewart does too much mugging now on the news stories.....but if you want a quick, but comprehensive sum up of the GOP convention...you can't beat this 8 minutes....classic stuff....

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business for his wife.

Palin, who earns $125,000 a year, claimed and received $16,951 as her allowance, which officials say was permitted because her official "duty station" is Juneau, according to an analysis of her travel documents by The Washington Post.

The governor's daughters and husband charged the state $43,490 to travel, and many of the trips were between their house in Wasilla and Juneau, the capital city 600 miles away, the documents show.

First, God seemingly ignored all those prayers for a torrential downpour during Barack Obama’s impassioned speech on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech.

Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, third-party advocate or independent voter, one cannot deny that it was truly a historic event to behold. Not only was it the official acceptance speech of the first African-American candidate for president to be nominated by a major party, but Obama also dared to mention his "gay and lesbian brothers and sisters" by name—and there was thunderous applause during that moment at Mile-High Stadium in Denver. I never would have imagined that in my lifetime I’d hear those words coming from the mouth of a heterosexual politician; that was a victory for all of us (even you Obama naysayers out there).

Instead, the torrential downpour came in the form of Hurricane Gustav, just as the Republican National Convention was about to begin. President Bush had to back out of his opening-night speech (and at press time was considering delivering a speech via satellite) in order to respond appropriately to the hurricane—and to prove that his administration learned a thing or two since its utter mishandling of Hurricane Katrina three years ago. The Bush administration owes the city of New Orleans big-time. Though the Bible beaters were probably praying for Gustav to ruin the Big Easy GLBT party Southern Decadence—revelers did have to evacuate—the hurricane put much more of a damper on the Republican National Convention.

Of course, Republicans were perhaps praying that Bush wouldn’t get to speak—McCain has been doing everything he possibly can to distance himself from W., who has the lowest approval rating of any commander-in-chief in our nation’s history. Can’t say I blame Sen. McCain. Not for that, anyway. I can blame him for making a frankly stupid choice for a running mate. What a brazen attempt to try to get disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters in his corner. It’s insulting that McCain apparently believes Hillary Clinton supporters just like Clinton because she’s female.

Unfortunately, the great majority of Americans don’t pay nearly as much attention to politics as I (and many of you) do. Shamefully, GLBT Americans can be just as ignorant as the masses.

One McCain supporter on a local GLBT message board simply reprinted the Log Cabin Republicans’ response to McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate:

"Alaska Governor Sarah Palin can help Sen. McCain win this election by appealing to independent and young voters. She’s a mainstream Republican who will unite the party and serve John McCain well as vice president. Gov. Palin is an inclusive Republican who will help Sen. McCain appeal to gay and lesbian voters."

Another person chimed in with, "She [Sarah Palin] is a no-nonsense governor for Alaska she has stood up to the once-corrupt Republicans and threw them out of office. She is a centrist. She is what we need. Too bad she is not at the top of the ticket."

You’ve got to be kidding. How do you define "inclusive" and "centrist"?

I don’t think an inclusive centrist would be a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association or a member of the evangelical pro-life group Feminists for Life. Would an inclusive centrist boast about her support of a 1998 Alaskan constitutional amendment barring marriage for same-sex couples?

Sure, as governor of the 47th most populous state in the country, Palin vetoed legislation that would have prevented state employees from receiving domestic partnership benefits, but it wasn’t because Palin was for GLBT rights—it was because the Alaska attorney general told her it would be unconstitutional to defy the Alaska Supreme Court ruling that provided those benefits in the first place.

I would rather have Sarah Palin’s doppelganger, Peggy Hill of the animated series King of the Hill, be McCain’s running mate. Even Peggy Hill is less of a cartoon than Sarah "Stepford Hockey Mom" Palin.

If McCain wins, I hope the Bible beaters pray every day for his good health—it scares me to think a hockey mom could be a heart attack away from representing us around the world.

The Republicans gained control of the narrative the moment they nominated Palin. The tone and tenor of this campaign will no longer be about issues (if it ever was). The Republicans could very well ride this strategy all the way into the White House. They know what they're doing and they know they never have to underestimate the gullibilty of the American voter to do the wrong thing. It's sad, but true.

The Republicans gained control of the narrative the moment they nominated Palin. The tone and tenor of this campaign will no longer be about issues (if it ever was). The Republicans could very well ride this strategy all the way into the White House. They know what they're doing and they know they never have to underestimate the gullibilty of the American voter to do the wrong thing. It's sad, but true.

Bingo, Hal. It's all so depressing. Bush won twice because the typical uninformed voter thought he sounded more like them, and he'd be fun to have a beer with. Gore, Kerry and Obama have all been painted successfully as elites, and "not like us." Policies and abilities don't matter anymore.

Be sure and click on the "rancid, race-baiting ad" link. If this disgusting ad, and the accompanying McCain campaign email, doesn't clear up the voting issue for HIV infected individuals on this board then nothing will.

I too think Hal has hit the nail on this head. Issues don't matter. Rather, American voters seem to be making their choice based on who looks and sounds like them, who they think they can "identify with" or "relate to" or want to be friends with. That's certainly what I got from my neighbor this past weekend, when he explained to me why he would vote for McCain, and especially Palin. He thinks she is a good choice for VP because she is a wife and a mom, and therefore can bring some "parental common sense" into government. I think this is exactly the response Republicans were hoping for.

As Peter said, policies and abilities don't seem to matter any more. I, too, find this all sad and depressing. And it's frightening that we could have someone so inexperienced as Sarah Palin who is just one heartbeat away from the Presidency.

Unfortunately, I believe this strategy will propel the Republicans right into the White House again. After years of war, a dot-com bust, corporate scandals, a housing bust, record budget deficits, soaring inflation and energy prices, the American public will vote the Republicans into the White House again, because voters feel they could could relate to the candidates over a beer or a cup of coffee.

Henry

« Last Edit: September 10, 2008, 12:20:40 PM by BuckmarkTX »

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"Life in Lubbock, Texas, taught me two things: One is that God loves you and you're going to burn in hell. The other is that sex is the most awful, filthy thing on earth and you should save it for someone you love." - Butch Hancock, Musician, The Flatlanders

I'm a pessimist when it comes to politics, but fortunately I was wrong when we took back the house and senate in 06. Always a Democrat, I figured by hook or by crook Americans wouldn't kick the bums out. Thank God I was wrong.

I am beginning to sense a backlash among thinking Americans. The left has been screaming about the lies for a week now with no results. I am beginning to notice that the main stream medium is beginning to challenge the blatant lies coming out of the McCain/Palin campaign. He's a house a cards and he knows it. If the press does it's job it just might crumble. We can only hope.

I'm not a big Andrew Sullivan fan, he easily dips into hero worship and then has to end up with a mea culpa. He cheerleaded Bush and the war, but at least he did apologize. However, he does hit the nail on the head with this observation:

For me, this surreal moment - like the entire surrealism of the past ten days - is not really about Sarah Palin or Barack Obama or pigs or fish or lipstick. It's about John McCain. The one thing I always thought I knew about him is that he is a decent and honest person. When he knows, as every sane person must, that Obama did not in any conceivable sense mean that Sarah Palin is a pig, what did he do? Did he come out and say so and end this charade? Or did he acquiesce in and thereby enable the mindless Rovianism that is now the core feature of his campaign?

So far, he has let us all down. My guess is he will continue to do so. And that decision, for my part, ends whatever respect I once had for him. On core moral issues, where this man knew what the right thing was, and had to pick between good and evil, he chose evil. When he knew that George W. Bush's war in Iraq was a fiasco and catastrophe, and before Donald Rumsfeld quit, McCain endorsed George W. Bush against his fellow Vietnam vet, John Kerry in 2004. By that decision, McCain lost any credibility that he can ever put country first. He put party first and his own career first ahead of what he knew was best for the country.

And when the Senate and House voted overwhelmingly to condemn and end the torture regime of Bush and Cheney in 2006, McCain again had a clear choice between good and evil, and chose evil.

He capitulated and enshrined torture as the policy of the United States, by allowing the CIA to use techniques as bad as and worse than the torture inflicted on him in Vietnam. He gave the war criminals in the White House retroactive immunity against the prosecution they so richly deserve. The enormity of this moral betrayal, this betrayal of his country's honor, has yet to sink in. But for my part, it now makes much more sense. He is not the man I thought he was.

And when he had the chance to engage in a real and substantive debate against the most talented politician of the next generation in a fall campaign where vital issues are at stake, what did McCain do? He began his general campaign with a series of grotesque, trivial and absurd MTV-style attacks on Obama's virtues and implied disgusting things about his opponent's patriotism.

And then, because he could see he was going to lose, ten days ago, he threw caution to the wind and with no vetting whatsoever, picked a woman who, by her decision to endure her own eight-month pregnancy of a Down Syndrome child in public, that he was going to reignite the culture war as a last stand against Obama. That's all that is happening right now: a massive bump in the enthusiasm of the Christianist base. This is pure Rove.

Yes, McCain made a decision that revealed many appalling things about him. In the end, his final concern is not national security. No one who cares about national security would pick as vice-president someone who knows nothing about it as his replacement. No one who cares about this country's safety would gamble the security of the world on a total unknown because she polled well with the Christianist base. No person who truly believed that the surge was integral to this country's national security would pick as his veep candidate a woman who, so far as we can tell anything, opposed it at the time.

McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States. And that is why it is more important than ever to ensure that Barack Obama is the next president. The alternative is now unthinkable. And McCain - no one else - has proved it.

Bingo, Hal. It's all so depressing. Bush won twice because the typical uninformed voter thought he sounded more like them, and he'd be fun to have a beer with. Gore, Kerry and Obama have all been painted successfully as elites, and "not like us." Policies and abilities don't matter anymore.

Well, Well ,Well... I have to admit I like Palin... and I also like McCain... but, that does not mean I will give them my VOTE! and I also want to add I like Obama.. but, I want to HEAR PLANS laidout on BOTH sides... not vague promises... or answers... I want a plan! and...

I will vote as to what is BEST for AMERICA... and sometimes its not a selfish vote as to what is Best for me!

Too many people vote today whats best for them but, not on the whole community and for everyone in this country...

One thing to keep in mind are the VP debates coming up. No matter how much Palin's been cozying up to Phyllis Schlafly, she'll be entirely out of her depth with Joe Biden, when the self-professed "pitbull with lipstick" will run up against more experience and talent than she's ever run up against in her life.

Don't lose heatr. The man who derailed Hillary's coronation has more than one trump face card in his hand.

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Blessed with brains, talent and gorgeous tits.

The revolutionary smart set reads The Spin Cycle at least once every day.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The abuse of power investigation against Sarah Palin, Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate, took a potentially ominous turn for her party on Friday when state lawmakers voted to subpoena her husband.

Republican efforts to delay the probe until after the Nov. 4 election were thwarted when GOP State Sen. Charlie Huggins, who represents Palin's hometown of Wasilla, sided with Democrats. "Let's just get the facts on the table," said Huggins, who appeared in camouflage pants to vote during a break from moose hunting.

I was frustrated by the election anyway but Palin has put me over the edge. America is a democratic republic-- citizens don't make the decisions we chose the people to make decisions for us. Therefore you want the smartest, wisest, most experienced people to lead the country. If you wrote down the candidate's qualifications and accomplishments on slips of paper and didn't include age, race, religion or gender I don't think the candidates we have would be the ones running. People I talk to act like they are voting on the next American Idol not someone to lead the country. The whole story about Palin and her children and being a "hockey mom"... I couldn't give a rat's ass. I don't care about "relating" to a candidate, I care about performance and issues.

I wish people would think about this election like they were interviewing someone to run a large corporation. How are you going to get this company out of the red? What are you going to do about employee dissatisfaction with healthcare benefits? What other companies have you ran and turned around? How will you deal with our competitors? For me choosing Palin to be vice-president is like the CEO of General Motors saying he's going to choose the manager of a dealership in Anchorage, who has worked for the company for two years, to be his successor because she's a go-getter, people like her and, after all, isn't running a dealership kind of like running a multinational corporation?

I can understand someone saying they want a conservative, pro-life, anti-gun control, pro-oil drilling and hawkish vice-president. But Palin is the smartest, most experienced, most qualified person in the entire country for that job? Of course not. The reason she has been chosen is because 1) she's conservative, 2) she's female and 3) she has charisma. She has been chosen to compliment McCain and get him into office. If she remains vice-president this won't be a huge problem but if she becomes president I fear she will be completely out of her depth. For one of his first presidential decisions I think McCain went for what was in the best interest of his campaign but not in the best interests of America.

We need to return voting rights to something more restrictive, like what the founding fathers were seeking with keeping it to land-owning citizens -- but instead of that I propose giving voters aptitude tests every 5 years or so, with an emphasis on current events.

I agree with Ford that national elections have been utterly American Idol-ized. I was thinking that very same thing a few days ago.

I was frustrated by the election anyway but Palin has put me over the edge. America is a democratic republic-- citizens don't make the decisions we chose the people to make decisions for us. Therefore you want the smartest, wisest, most experienced people to lead the country.

I don't expect anyone here understands much better than I, but I truly wish someone would explain to me why "elite" and "intellectual" have been used as pejoratives in this campaign. If those attributes are now carrying negative connotations, does that mean that underachieving dumbfucks have attained some glamour I'd never previously noticed?

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Blessed with brains, talent and gorgeous tits.

The revolutionary smart set reads The Spin Cycle at least once every day.

If those attributes are now carrying negative connotations, does that mean that underachieving dumbfucks have attained some glamour I'd never previously noticed?

Let's see. McCain graduated 6th from the bottom at the Naval Academy (which he only got into because of Daddy's connections in the first place) and Palin had to cycle through 4 universities before getting her degree at the Univ. of Idaho so that she could become a sports newscaster.

I don't expect anyone here understands much better than I, but I truly wish someone would explain to me why "elite" and "intellectual" have been used as pejoratives in this campaign. If those attributes are now carrying negative connotations, does that mean that underachieving dumbfucks have attained some glamour I'd never previously noticed?

George Will recently wrote that elections don't decide whether elites rule but which elites rule. He also relayed this story:

Robert Alphonso Taft (1889–1953), the son of President William Howard Taft, became known as "Mr. Republican" during his 14 years as a U.S. senator from Ohio. He was a conservative representing a state whose electorate included many farmers and blue-collar industrial workers, and opponents charged that he was out of touch with such ordinary people. In 1947 a reporter asked Mrs. Taft, "Do you think of your husband as a common man?" Aghast, she replied:

"Oh, no, no! The senator is very uncommon. He was first in his class at Yale and first in his class at the Harvard Law School. We wouldn't permit Ohio to be represented in the Senate by just a common man."

What I read are Vague ideas? promises... but, neither canidate has shown who will pay for this?

??

We will pay...that's the way it works..you want universal health care....you want first rate schools/highways/military....we pay for it...It's called setting priorities...unless you know some secret new funding source

But hey, I'm sure Bobb Barr or Cynthia McKinney got it all figured out and given to you, cost free.....

Jebus....

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“Keep up the good work.... And God bless you.” -- Sarah Palin, to members of the Alaskan Independence Party, 2008

I wonder how much McCain's upcoming war with Iran would cost us. I'd imagine occupying a country 3 times the size of Iraq with 2.5 times the population, and with a topography as mountainous as Afghanistan, might be rather large.

Last weeks Bill Maher said the only time Sarah got a call at 3am was whena moose was loose in the trash cans.

But I watched that interview with Charlie on ABC, and I felt like I wasliving in a bad twilight zone TV episode.Not only did Charlie have to explain his questions, he had to thenexplain to her how to answer.I thought I knew the meaning of CLUELESS, I now have new insight tothe meaning of clueless.I really would be terrified if those two were elected. Shocked and horrified.Not that they were elected, but what could be in store for the good ole USA.I'm convinced the GOP put something in the water at their convention.I never realized republicans were that unstable. Geeezzzzeeeezzzz It look like they reduced life on earth to YouTubes and video game mentality.

I don't expect anyone here understands much better than I, but I truly wish someone would explain to me why "elite" and "intellectual" have been used as pejoratives in this campaign. If those attributes are now carrying negative connotations, does that mean that underachieving dumbfucks have attained some glamour I'd never previously noticed?

It's all part of the general and complete dumbing down of our life and culture. Look at the crappy movies that are the most popular, the highest-rated TV shows, the disgusting and ludicrous so-called music, etc., etc. Our politics has been dumbed down as well, because so many of the voters are dumb. Kids mock anyone of their peers with any signs of intellect. What books are the most popular? Comic books have become the source of common "wisdom." Anyone "intellectual" has become an effete nerd. Any male interested in the arts is a fag. Dumb fucks identify with other dumb fucks, and they vote for them. All kids today are told by their parents that they are brilliant and can do and be anything. Everyone thinks they can be on "American Idol," and look who wins that contest. Paris Hilton is the new "elite." We are surrounded by complete mediocrity. That has become the new elite. Why should our politics be any different?

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"No one will ever be free so long as there are pestilences."--Albert Camus, "The Plague"

"Mankind can never be free until the last brick in the last church falls on the head of the last priest."--Voltaire

It's all part of the general and complete dumbing down of our life and culture. Look at the crappy movies that are the most popular, the highest-rated TV shows, the disgusting and ludicrous so-called music, etc., etc. Our politics has been dumbed down as well, because so many of the voters are dumb. Kids mock anyone of their peers with any signs of intellect. What books are the most popular? Comic books have become the source of common "wisdom." Anyone "intellectual" has become an effete nerd. Any male interested in the arts is a fag. Dumb fucks identify with other dumb fucks, and they vote for them. All kids today are told by their parents that they are brilliant and can do and be anything. Everyone thinks they can be on "American Idol," and look who wins that contest. Paris Hilton is the new "elite." We are surrounded by complete mediocrity. That has become the new elite. Why should our politics be any different?

That's absolutely spot on. The exact same thing is happening in the UK at the moment as well. At least you'll have a leader of your country who was actually elected by the public anyway! The front page of one of the main tabloid newspapers the other day was the earth shattering news that Victoria Beckham has had a new haircut. People are more interested in who is going to win Big Brother than the future of their country and that's really sad in my view.

As an outsider I've been following this campaign with a lot of interest mainly because I think it's something that will effect the rest of the world in a big way especially if the Republicans regain power. From what I've been reading I honestly can't understand why anyone would vote for the Republican party. I'm just hoping Sarah Palin will be shown up for exactly who she is in the coming weeks because she is extremely dangerous. Barack Obama has some really great policies especially on healthcare and he would make a great president. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed come November 4th that's for sure. I've already booked the 5th of November off work so I can stay up and watch the election coverage!